The Lion and the Snake
by rainbowspring
Summary: Companion piece to Maybe. Draco and Astoria are opposites, fighting on oppossing sides in a war. So how is it that against all odds these two came to be together? Maybe at the end of the day, Draco and Astoria were more alike than they thought.
1. Prologue

**A/N: This is a prequel and continuation to another fanfic of mine called ****Maybe**** that is available on my profile for anyone interested, however it is not essential to read it to understand what is going on in this, but it may help. Please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****Harry Potter**** or any of the characters used in this fanfic. **

The Lion and the Snake, Chapter 1: Prologue

The Slytherins all settled down into their usual seats at the Slytherin table, waiting for the Sorting to begin.

"Hey Greengrass, your sister's getting Sorted today, right?" Pansy Parkinson commented to fellow third year Daphne Greengrass.

"Yeah, she is." Daphne answered. Daphne had straight shoulder length chestnut colored hair and the signature Greengrass emerald green eyes.

"She better be in Slytherin." Pansy declared.

Daphne did not respond. The Sorting began a few minutes later. The first first year was Sorted, and the rest followed soon afterwards. The first years all looked very nervous. Draco Malfoy suppressed a snort as he watched them all. He was sure he had never been that nervous during his Sorting, and even if he had, he would not have expressed his emotions.

Eventually the name," GREENGRASS, ASTORIA!" was called.

A girl with flaming red hair and emerald green eyes walked up to the stool where the Sorting Hat was placed on her head. Draco could not help but notice that she walked differently than all of the other first years had so far. If she was at all nervous, she was doing an excellent job of hiding it. He was sure she would be in Slytherin.

The hat was silent for a brief moment, then-

"GRYFFINDOR!" Astoria happily skipped over to the Gryffindor table, where she was met with a mixture of applause as well as shocked glances her way. No Greengrass had ever been Sorted into Gryffindor. _Ever_.

The Slytherins turned to face Daphne, who did not look at all surprised by this and merely clapped politely.

"Why are you clapping?"Draco snarled. "Your sister was just Sorted into _Gryffindor_!"

Daphne shrugged. "So?"

"_So_?" Pansy repeated, shock and fury evident on her features. "No Greengrass has ever been Sorted into that stupid House! Moreover, Gryffindor is the enemy!"

Daphne raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I was already aware of everything you just said."

Pansy looked ready to scream. "You –"

"Miss Parkinson would you please quiet down, we are trying to proceed with the sorting!" Professor McGonagall called from where she was. Pansy flushed and quieted down. Once the Sorting had ended, Daphne was greeted with much shouting from her fellow Slytherins.

"Funny, the way you're acting one would think that it's actually my fault my sister went to Gryffindor, despite my not doing anything to cause it."Daphne remarked dryly after a period of simply ignoring them.

As the Slytherins walked to their common room, Draco hissed to Daphne, "You know you can't hang around your sister anymore Greengrass. Not now that she's the enemy."

"_The enemy."_ Daphne scoffed as they entered the common room. "Are you listening to yourself, Malfoy? I'll spend my time with whoever I wish, Malfoy, and there's nothing you can do to stop me." And with that being said, Daphne stalked her way up the stairs to the girls' dormitory.

"Don't worry about her, Draco," Pansy murmured. "I'll talk to the moron, I'm sure she'll see sense soon enough."

As Draco climbed into his bed that night, he found himself thinking about the younger Greengrass, wondering what the Sorting Hat had saw in her that got her placed in Gryffindor when no one else in her family ever had, and remembering how confident she seemed, never once looking nervous. He quickly shook those thoughts from his mind, and drifted off to sleep.

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	2. Four Years Later

**A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed or followed! *Hands out pudding***

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters used in this fanfic. **

The Lion and the Snake Chapter 1: Four Years Later

Draco boarded the Hogwarts Express this year with a feeling he had never experienced on the first day of school before: Pure, absolute utter dread, sadness, and, above all, total fear. He went into the prefects' compartment with Pansy Parkinson, who unlike him was gleeful as they entered the compartment. The two had been made Head Boy and Head Girl this year not because they were good at being prefects, but because of their blood status and family connections and relations to the Dark Lord. Draco himself was a Death Eater along with his father, and while Pansy was not one yet, he knew both of her parents were and suspected she would jump at the chance.

Now that Professor Snape was Headmaster this year, and Alecto and Amycus Carrow would hold teaching positions, it had been decided that detentions would be torture. Literally. Older students would be forced to Cruciate other students who had received detentions, and if they refused than they would get Cruciated too. And prefects- especially the Head Boy and Head Girl- would in particular have to make sure the punishments and principles of the Carrows were enforced. As Draco closed the compartment door behind them, he looked around to see who this year's new prefects would be. Their faces were all familiar to him, but there was only one person he actually remembered: Astoria Greengrass.

He and Astoria were neither friends nor enemies, and had only spoken to each other in passing. Or rather, when Astoria witnessed Draco picking on other students Astoria would always stand up for his victims and give him a piece of her mind. He remembered how shocked he was when about only one week into her first year at Hogwarts, Daphne's little sister yelled at him for harassing her and a bunch of first years she was with at the time while they were on their way to class. He never gave her trouble again after that, although that didn't stop him from bullying entirely; it only prevented him from bullying her. Although if he bullied anyone within her proximity, she was sure to let him have it.

As he looked at the emerald eyed ginger in front of him, he felt a sinking feeling form in his stomach. If there was anyone who was in danger of getting in trouble with the Carrows this year, it was Astoria Greengrass. Her parents were death Eaters and she was a pureblood. However, she was a thorough blood traitor, through and through. The Carrows did not know this, and Draco silently prayed she would tone down her Muggle and Muggle Born loving tendencies. Or else she was endangering herself. What worried Draco more than anything for the younger Greengrass though was this: she had been a member of Dumbledore's Army the year before, he recalled, and was willing to break school rules if she felt it was the right thing.

Therefore, he wouldn't be surprised if she disobeyed the Carrows. He knew there was nothing she could agree with them on and may voice her opinion. There was no way in Heaven, Earth, or Hell that she would honestly agree with the idea of torturing students. All he could do was pray that she would be smart enough to keep quiet for once.

The idea of Draco Malfoy being concerned for a Gryffindor two years below him may seem odd, and if someone told him a few years ago he'd be this worried, he would have laughed in their face. But now, Draco was worried for everyone this year, regardless of their House or blood status, or whatever opinion he may have had of them previously.

Eventually, he and Pansy informed the prefects of their duties this year. Astoria objected once they reached the part about using the Cruciatus Curse for detentions.

"We have to do _WHAT_?!" She exclaimed loudly.

"Cruciate students who have detention, Greengrass," Pansy sneered. "Now back to-"

But before Pansy could continue, Astoria interrupted once more.

"I refuse to do that!" She declared. "Crucio other students? That's barbaric! What's wrong with ordinary detentions? We're civilized human beings, for God's sake!"

"Greengrass," Draco said though gritted teeth. "Don't be stupid. If you want to survive this year, you will obey the Carrows' orders at all times. It is torture or be tortured. Do not disagree with them, just act as is expected of you, and you will be fine. That goes for all of you." He added, looking around at them all. "Understand." It was not a question, but an order.

Everyone nodded fearfully. Everyone that is, except for Astoria Greengrass.

"You can all do whatever you like, but I for one will not stand for this. I refuse to be a part of this." And with that being said she yanked the Prefects' badge from her shirt. She tossed it on the ground and stomped on it. A couple of people gasped.

"You're making a mistake, Greengrass," Draco snarled. "If you don't want the Carrows to hurt you and perhaps your family, you will put that badge back on, sit back down, and pretend none of this every happened."

"I don't want to get hurt Draco, "Astoria whispered, and Draco hoped this meant she was finally seeing sense. "And I don't want my family to pay for my actions. But-"His heart fell as she said that three letter word-"I also don't want to stand by and do nothing. And if doing what is right means being harmed… than on my own head be it." And with that being said she stalked out of the compartment.

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	3. To Cruciate or not to Cruciate

**A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed, added to favorites or story alerts!*Hands out chocolate mousse.***

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****Harry Potter**** or any of the characters used in this fanfic.**

Chapter 2: To Cruciate or not to Cruciate

Astoria did not heed Draco's warnings much to his dismay, and by the time October rolled around he felt an odd mix of pity, worry, aggravation, and just a hint of admiration towards the Gryffindor. Word had it that on the very first night back at Hogwarts, Astoria had sought out Snape and requested she no longer be a Prefect, and demanded that use of Dark Magic on other students not to be allowed. When he denied her request, it was said that she yelled at him so badly it was a miracle she was not expelled there and then. In fact, she did not even receive detention or have any House points taken away. (School had not officially begun that night so Snape was unable to dock any points.)

Now, if one were fool enough to outright lecture the Headmaster who was in league with the Dark Lord about his way of running things at Hogwarts and miraculously managed to get off scot free, Draco thought they should consider themselves lucky and act respectfully and obey all school rules from then on. But evidently Astoria did not seem to share his way of thinking, because about one week into term, Pansy had been called on by the Carrows to torture the first student who had earned detention that year. Pansy was ecstatic when she heard the news, much to Draco's disgust and jumped at the opportunity.

"I can't wait to find out who my first victim is going to be, "She said to Draco over dinner after hearing from the Carrows that she would be assigned to torture someone. "Oh well, I'll find out at 8:00 I suppose."

"Pansy, would I be correct in assuming you've never tortured somebody before using the Cruciatus Curse?"Draco asked her.

Pansy nodded."Yes, why? Oh, are you going to give me tips on the best ways of torturing? You must be very good at it Draco, I bet you've tortured loads before."

Draco felt bile start to rise in his throat for a moment as he remembered vividly all of the times he had been forced into torturing people. After fighting it back down, he said in as cool a voice as he could muster," Pansy, I have, and I assure you it's not going to be as fun as you expect it will be. It will not be fun at all, actually."

But Pansy ignored his warnings and instead prattled on about how excited she was and talked about people she hoped she was going to be able to torture. Needless to say, Draco was relieved when she left the common room later to torture for the first time.

When she came back, roughly half an hour later, her reaction was not what he had been expecting. He had expected her to be crying, shaking, or just plain numb. What he had not expected was for her to be shrieking gleefully and rushing over to him to tell him all the details.

"Guess who my first torture was, Draco, _guess!_"

"Who was it?"He inquired in as indifferently as he could.

"Astoria Greengrass!"

Draco felt his stomach churn and it was then he noticed that Daphne wasn't in the common room tonight.

His face remained emotionless however as he solicited, "What did she do that resulted in her punishment?"

"Oh, the little brat had spouted out some rubbish during a Muggle Studies class that Muggles are equal to wizard and deserved the same rights as wizards and so do Mudbloods, who have never stolen magic from wizards and are just as magical as any Pureblood. She went on to say that we should allow Mudbloods to learn alongside Purebloods and Halfbloods, and that it was ridiculous that they are not allowed to return to Hogwarts this year. She also thought it stupid Muggles and Mudbloods are being hunted down. Can you believe her? And that's not all; she still said those things even as I was torturing her. Speaking of which, you should have seen the look on her face as I used the Cruciatus Curse on her. I was marvelous Draco; she actually cried!"

Pansy cackled while Draco felt sick to his stomach but responded with, "What an idiot."

"Completely!"Pansy agreed, not realizing that Draco had been thinking about her when he said that instead of Astoria.

Draco could not believe how, in his mind's eye, foolish the younger Greengrass had been, but he was even more appalled about Pansy's idiocy. How could she not even realize how wrong this all was? At least Greengrass realized how insane this whole war was, and that's why she was acting like a moron. _Typical Gryffindor. _He thought to himself._ Why does she have to be so Goddamn noble? Now that she's struck, it's only a matter of time before other students start rebelling too, and therefore more and more people will get tortured. Why don't these fools realize that if they merely behave, there would be no need for anyone to be tortured in the first place? Well, maybe the blood traitor will have learned how to respect her superiors and not cause us and therefore not cause herself any more trouble. For all our sakes, including hers, I hope she has learned this. _

Sadly, it appeared Astoria had not learned this. Just weeks later, word had spread around the school about all sorts of scenarios Astoria had wound up getting involved in in order to rebel against the Carrows. Sure enough, as Draco had predicted more students had decided to follow her example and get tortured as a result. Draco was amazed she was still allowed to be a Prefect. Draco was reflecting on this one day in Mid-October as he sat in the common room doing his homework when Professor Amycus Carrow barged into the room.

"Daphne Greengrass!"He called and Daphne stood up from where she had been sitting. Daphne had neither been tortured nor been forced to torture so far this year. She acted respectfully towards the Carrows much to Draco's surprise; she wasn't known as the Slytherin Blood Traitor for nothing, although admittedly she wasn't quite as much a Blood Traitor as her sister was. "Yes Sir?"

"You are going to come with me and torture that impudent sister of yours. She has been misbehaving… again!"

A look of horror struck Daphne's face for a moment, but it passed as soon as it came and she replied impassively, "Of course Sir." And with that being said exited the common room.

She returned twenty minutes later just as unimpassioned as before she had left.

"Greengrass, did you torture that pretty little sister of yours?"Crabbe chuckled darkly when Daphne returned.

Daphne sat down, ignoring him.

"Finally on the right side, eh Greengrass?" Goyle added sniggering.

Daphne remained silent.

"It's about time you finally got your head out of the clouds about that ridiculous business about Inter-House Unity and treating filthy Muggles and Mudbloods like proper Purebloods. "Pansy declared smugly."Good for you, Daphne, for choosing the right side, even if it means not remaining loyal to your Blood Traitor of a sister."

Eventually the rest of the common room retired to bed, but Draco made sure to stay until he and Daphne, who was steadfastly reading a book, were the only ones left.

"Greengrass, you really didn't torture your sister, did you?"Draco queried quietly.

Daphne looked up from her book, but not a word left her mouth.

"Were you tortured then?"Draco was getting slightly irritable that Daphne was being so unresponsive.

"I will tell you this Malfoy," Daphne spoke at long last." I was neither tortured nor did I torture."

Draco pondered this for a moment. If Daphne had not tortured Astoria, she herself would have been tortured by the Carrows alongside Astoria. Did the Carrows decide at the last minute to find someone else to torture Astoria?

"What do you mean by that Greengrass?"He demanded.

"Think about it."Daphne replied and evacuated the common room to go to her dormitory.

* * *

Over the next week or so, Draco did think about it but could draw no conclusion as to how she was able to fake the Cruciatus Curse. Did Daphne use the Imperius Curse on Astoria and have her pretend to be tortured? However, he soon dismissed this thought, being as in order for that to work Daphne would need to be able to communicate aloud to Astoria in order to tell her what to do, but with the Carrows in the room that would be nearly impossible without getting caught.

Did she merely pretend to attempt to do it but lied after "trying" that she was simply unable to produce such strong magic? Possible, but his curiosity would not rest until he knew for certain what exactly she had done. He cornered Daphne about this when he found her alone in the library one day.

Draco was spending much more time in the library these days than he used to; he preferred to be alone or mostly alone than stuck in the Slytherin Common Room with several students who actually delighted in torturing others. Not so long ago Draco would have classified himself as one of those students, not giving a damn if he harmed any Blood Traitors or Mudbloods. Once he actually had the opportunity though, his expectations turned to dust as he woke up to the gravity of the situation taking place right now. Unfortunately, it seemed that not all of his fellow Death Eaters or people who were Blood Purists realized the reality of how wrong everything was concerning Voldemort and his principles.

Most of Slytherin House were just as disturbed by what was happening as Draco was, but Slytherin House regrettably held the largest amount of people who honestly believed that harming innocents was acceptable, and because of those select few Draco could hardly stand to be in the same room as them.

Now Draco was seated next to Daphne at a table in the far back corner of the library. There were only a few other students in the room, being as it was a Friday afternoon, and from where they were seated provided they kept their voices down, no one could possibly hear them.

"How did you do it, Greengrass?" Draco was saying now. "Did you pretend you just weren't powerful enough to do it? And I say pretend because Greengrass, after being in nearly all of the same classes as you for over six years I am positive you are physically capable enough to cast such a spell, even if you don't want to. Or did you do something else?"

Daphne did not answer him, but merely continued writing her essay as though he were not there.

"Greengrass, if you don't tell me how you did it, I will tell the Carrows about this," Draco threatened.

Daphne looked up at him, but there was no fear in her eyes. She spoke in a calm, clear voice."You are bluffing."

"Excuse me?"Draco let out a hollow laugh, refusing to show any signs of surprise at her response. Though he would not seriously have told the Carrows- what use was there of yet another innocent getting hurt? - He had expected her to take his threat seriously. "Greengrass, I work for the Dark Lord himself. I know the Carrows very well. They will listen to what I have to say, so I'd advise you Greengrass, to watch yourself and answer my question."

"While much of what you have said so far rings true, Malfoy," Daphne's voice was as calm as ever, I know one thing you have said thus far is false: That you would actually tell the Carrows if I had not tortured Astoria. I know that despite you being on what you think is the "right" side, Malfoy, I know things are not going well for your family. At this point, you just want this war to be over and for all of the pain and bloodshed to stop, don't you? What good would turning me in bring? I am not Harry Potter or one of his trusted friends; it is not like you would get a reward for reporting me. If you report me, the only thing that will happen will be that I may get tortured, but that won't benefit you in any way, shape or form, now will it, Malfoy? All that will do will be adding a little extra pain and suffering to a world at the moment that may very well be facing more of that now than ever before. So why bother?"

Draco let her words sink in and knew undeniably without a doubt that they were perhaps truly the most honest words he had ever heard before in his life. He also knew there and then that no threat of any sort he made towards this girl would work, leaving him with only one other option in terms of obtaining information out of her.

"Greengrass, if I promise not to tell anyone about this, will you tell me how you were able to get out of using the Cruciatus Curse on your sister?"

Daphne looked into his eyes for a moment to confirm he was not lying to her before answering. "I will… under condition."

Draco groaned."What now, Greengrass?"

"Under the condition that we make an Unbreakable Vow on it."

**Dun- Dun- Dun: Cliffhanger! Why do you think Daphne wants to make an Unbreakable Vow with Draco and what about? Why do you think Astoria was able to get away from being rude to Snape the first night back? Why do you think she keeps rebelling? What would you do if you were at Hogwarts at the moment? How do you think Daphne managed to break the Cruciatus Curse? What do you think Draco will do? **

**Last but not least: Please review!:D **


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